Health-Related QoL Evaluated for Children With Brain Tumors

(HealthDay News) – In children and adolescents with brain tumors treated with proton radiation, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores are affected by both disease type and treatment, with assessments made by the patients correlating well with those of their parents, according to a study published online May 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Karen A. Kuhlthau, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a prospective study to evaluate the HRQoL of 142 pediatric patients, aged 2 to 18 years, with brain tumors, who were treated with proton radiotherapy. The HRQoL assessments were made using the PedsQL core, brain tumor, and cancer modules, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Both child self-report (CSR) and parent proxy report (PPR) were utilized.

For the core and brain tumor modules, the researchers found that the ratings of HRQoL from parents and children correlated well, although parent reports were generally lower than those of their children (74.8 and 78.1, respectively, for CSR and 67.0 and 74.8, respectively, for PPR). Disease type was associated with PPR core total HRQoL score at the start of treatment, with the lowest scores for medulloblastoma or primitive neuroectodermal tumors and the highest scores for low-grade glioma or other low-grade neoplasms. HRQoL was lower for those also receiving craniospinal irradiation and chemotherapy.

"This prospective study of children with brain tumors treated with proton radiation demonstrates the effect on HRQoL of disease type and intensity of treatment," the authors write.

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